Radar Radio

What did it do?

Radar Radio was a youth-focused online radio station that championed London's underground music, especially grime, rap and electronic genres. From its four-storey studio near the Barbican, it offered an uncensored platform to young DJs and presenters as well as well-known names such as Skepta.

Why did it shut down?

The station was kept afloat by money from MASH Holdings, the investment company of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, and lost more than £800,000 in 2016. In April 2018 the Pxssy Palace collective cut ties with the station, accusing it of stealing ideas, using the community as window dressing and relying on unpaid labour; former producer Ashtart Al-Hurra also said that harassment complaints had been brushed aside. DJs and shows left one after another, and the station suspended broadcasting on 16 April 2018. Accounts published in July 2018 showed that the company had debts of around £4 million, £3.6 million of it owed to its parent company, and that redundancy and consultancy costs were anticipated for winding down operations.

The story

Radar Radio was founded in London in 2014 by Ollie Ashley. Ashley was the son of billionaire Mike Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, and the station was kept afloat with the backing of his father's investment company, MASH Holdings. Broadcasting online from studios in a four-storey building near the Barbican, with annual rent of up to £250,000, Radar offered an uncensored platform to rising names in grime, rap and electronic music. Names such as Skepta and Snoochie Shy appeared on the station's broadcasts.

Behind the glossy image, the finances were weak. Having spent around £500,000 on equipment in 2016, the station lost more than £800,000 that year. On average only 16 people were on the payroll; the vast majority of contributors were unpaid.

In April 2018 the crisis erupted. The Pxssy Palace collective cut ties with the station, accusing it of stealing its ideas, using the community as window dressing and relying on unpaid labour. Former producer Ashtart Al-Hurra also said that complaints of sexual harassment had been brushed aside by management. It emerged that staff had been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. DJs and shows left one after another; on 16 April 2018 the station announced it was suspending broadcasts until it was in a position to address the criticism that had surfaced.

Accounts filed at Companies House in July 2018 showed that the company had debts of around £4 million, £3.6 million of it owed to MASH Holdings. The accounts anticipated around £270,000 in redundancy payments and £230,000 in consultancy costs for winding down operations. Radar Radio's collapse showed that a cultural brand's reputation depends directly on how it treats the community it rests on.

Lessons for founders

• A media brand that grows on the labour of a community loses both its trust and its content at once if it does not give that community fair pay and a say.
• Non-disclosure agreements and the absence of formal HR processes do not silence complaints; they only delay the explosion and make it bigger.
• A wealthy backer's money is no substitute for a revenue model; a loss-making broadcaster caught in a reputational crisis has nothing to hold on to.

Sources

1. Radar Radio halts broadcast following harassment and censorship allegations (Dazed, 2018-04-17)
2. The Rise and Demise of Radar Radio (Vice)
3. Radar Radio has ended up £4 million in debt (Mixmag, 2018-07-30)

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